The Study of Dragons
by ironlegion
Summary: This compendium of knowledge, assembled by the Berk Academy of Dragon Studies, will give firsthand information on the multiple species of dragon that inhabit our world.


**Disclaimer: I own none of the presented materials. How to train your dragon is owned by cressida cowell and dreamworks. This just some fanwork for my own amusement and the amusement of others.**

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 _ **The study of Dragons**_

 _The Berk Academy of Dragon studies has been the most effective society for the research of dragonology for hundreds of years. The roots of the group date back to the Viking era where a small sect of Vikings led by Bork the bold grew curious about the nature and habits of the variety of dragon species inhabiting their archipelago. The academies studies grew immensely upon the discovery of the art of dragon taming by Hiccup Horrendus Haddock the III, who proceeded to spread both the knowledge garnered about dragons and the methods of taming them across the globe. Today, while no longer the only one of its kind, the school is the world leader in the study of dragons, helping dragon integration into human society and researching into dragon behavior, and habitats, with thousands of new recruits applying every year._

 _ **What are Dragons?**_

 _Dragons, while resembling modern day lizards, are actually more closely related to birds much like dinosaurs. To classify a creature as a dragon scientists have established a set of criteria._

 _Scales or scale like formations covering their bodies_

 _The ability of flight using wings._

 _Chemical sac located near the base of the throat_

 _Multiple creatures such as the Deathsong and the Cavern Crasher have been found to possess similar features to dragons but are not themselves members of the dragon species and have even been found to eat dragons. These creatures are referred to as dragonoids and have been the subject of serious study by top dragonologists_

 _ **Dragon Behavior**_

 _Dragon behavior varies wildly from species to species, but there are some constants between most species. For one, dragons are incredibly intelligent. While some breeds are known for being smarter than others, it is undeniable that dragons have a high degree of understanding. They are able to understand a good majority of human speak in most languages, can recognize a high number of hand signals, and some have even been seen to understand images on the page. Another bit of behavior that is common is an avoidance of eels. Eels carry a toxin that interferes with a dragon's cognitive abilities, thus a number of dragon species outright avoid eels, barring a few types such as the Typhoomerang. But the most interesting trait dragons have is the protectiveness they have over those they consider to be their own. Once a dragon has bonded with a creature, whether it's their young, their mate, or even a human they do everything in their power to watch over them._

 _ **Dragon Flight**_

 _All dragon species have the capability of flight, despite some living in environments that would not necessitate such an adaption. Scientists postulate this to be due to dragons using flight as a kind of mating ritual. Despite their massive size dragons are capable of reaching incredibly high speeds. Multiple factors assist dragons in attaining flight. First is their incredibly light yet strong hollow bird like bones. Then there are the multiple air sacs locate throughout the dragons body that inflate upon flight like balloons. The larger the dragon the more air sacs it posses with the larger breeds have dozens of them throughout the body. Dragons also have powerful wing muscles that help them beat their wings strong enough and fast enough to fly_

 _ **Dragon Fire**_

 _Multiple dragon breeds have small glands of chemicals located behind the throats much like a snakes venom glands. Above those glands is a small organ similar to an organic flint. By releasing the chemicals and then sparking the flint organ dragons are capable of releasing or "breathing" flames. The use of this fire ranges from streams to quick blasts. While dragons are capable of releasing steams of fire and quickly replacing the chemicals in their glands, after a certain number of shots the flint muscle will ache causing the dragon to wait a period of time for it to heal. The number of shots vary based on the breed of dragon with some having a higher number of shots due to their flint organ being able to withstand a higher amount of strain but every dragon will eventually hit their limit._

 _ **A Dragons life**_

 _All dragons, like most reptiles, lay eggs. Most dragon eggs have specific adaptions in order to survive better in their environment. Once fully incubated in the egg, the dragon has a unique method of hatching. Instead of using a beak of any kind to break it open from the inside, they use their unique breathe weapon to blast open the egg. Due to the volatile nature of the eggs hatching, most dragons hatch their eggs near a body of water where they are submerged to minimalize the effects of their hatching._

 _After hatching, dragons are in what is known as the "Short wing" phase of their lives. This phase is roughly analogous to the first 1-17 years of a human lifespan but only really goes on for a period of a 9-12 months. Dragons go through this stage until they have reached around the same size as their parents thus reaching the "Broad Wing" phase of their lives._

 _About 10% of the dragon population also goes forward onto an additional state called the "Titan wing" phase where they go through a massive metamorphosis in physical features. Scientists are still unsure why only certain dragons move on to this stage of life though some theorize that it is due to these being simply a stage dragons reach at a certain point in their lifespan thought they have yet to determine when exactly that is._

 _Dragons can live for extremely long periods of time, some of the oldest ones living for hundreds of years. Indeed, even the smallest of dragons can outlive most human beings._

 _ **Dragon Taming**_

 _Dragon taming is the art of earning a dragons trust and forging a bond with the creature. Doing so, however, can be extremely difficult depending on the circumstance, breed of the dragon trying to be tamed, and level of ability of the dragon tamer. Dragon taming can be self-taught but should best be attempted by those with a good amount of experience. While it is commonly known that the first dragons were successfully trained in the Barbaric Archipeligo, many other cultures performed similar feats. In ancient Britain, knights would sometimes garner the respect of Monstrous Nightmare's by successfully pinning their horns to the ground in battle. Some ancient mayan cultures managed to calm Deathsongs by playing pan flute rhythms matching the creatures own song. Even Japanese citizens managed to live in villages near Grapple Grounders by bringing them annual offerings of fish._

 _ **Dragons and Humanity**_

 _It's no secret that dragons and humans have not gotten along well throughout most of history. Dragons often attacked towns and cities for reasons such as wanting food or seeing humans as infringing on their territory while humans considered dragons to be monsters and would hunt them for both defense and sport. Even after dragons started being studied scientifically many still considered them pests at the most. It wasn't until the discovery of dragon taming that relations between humans and dragons became peaceful. Dragons began to become loyal friends and allies to humanity while humans began to truly respect and admire these magnificent creatures. Today, human and dragon live as one with multiple cities housing multiple dragon populations and dragons assisting in human development in everything from construction to agriculture to sports._

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 **Here is the first chapter of something new I've been knocking around. To those fans of my Loud house stories, I'm still working on those and have every intention of updating, but this is something I've been getting excited about and wanted to give a whack at.**

 **The idea for this came from the Fanon Pokedex on T.V. tropes and WhispertheWolfie's dragon Theories on devitantart (Both of which I reccomend you check out. They are amazing,)**

 **Yes, I already have a modern httyd fic and no, there is no connection between those two just to clear up any confusion. I just thought it be interesting to try my hand and making some small pseudo scientific journals on the different species of dragon with a little modernization thrown in. Please, let me know what you think about the concept and how this work progresses.**


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